Posted on

Mistake of Law Defense

Mistake of Law is not a valid defense to a general intent crime. Even if the defendant’s mistake was reasonable, mistake of law is not a valid defense. (See People v. Marrero). The only exception is if a statute proscribing the defendant’s conduct has not been reasonably made available or if the defendant recently relied on a statute or judicial decision that was recently held unconstitutional.

However, under a specific intent crime, the defendant’s mistake of law is a valid defense whether reasonable or unreasonable. (See Cheek v. United States).

Compare to Mistake of Fact Defense

More Helpful Information: List of General Intent and Specific Intent Crimes

Posted on

Mistake of Fact Defense

Under the Common Law, if the crime only requires general intent, the defendant’s mistake must be reasonable for mistake of fact to be a valid defense. If the crime is a specific intent crime, the defendant’s mistake can be reasonable or unreasonable. This reasonableness is first a legal conclusion, then it goes to the jury to determine whether or not the mistake was reasonable.

Under the MPC Section 2.04, the defendant’s mistake must go towards negating the mens rea required for the crime. If the crime only requires general intent, the mens rea is going to default to recklessness.

See Regina v. Prince for an example of mistake of fact.

Compare to Mistake of Law

Posted on

Cheek v. United States, 498 U.S. 192 (1991)

Case Name: Cheek v. United States
Citation: 498 U.S. 192 (1991)

Facts: Cheek was convicted of willfully failing to file a federal income tax return for a number of years. His defense was that he sincerely believed that under the tax laws he owed no taxes and that the tax laws were unconstitutional. Cheek received this information from seminars and his own study. The jury could not decide because they were divided on whether Cheek honestly and reasonably believed that he was not required to pay income tax. The trial judge responded that “an honest but unreasonable belief is not a defense and does not negate willfulness” and that the information Cheek received was “not objectively reasonable.” The jury then convicted Cheek.

Defendant’s argument: The trial judge erred in instructing the jury that only an “objectively reasonable” misunderstanding of the law negates the statutory willfulness requirement.

State’s argument: Mistake about the law is not a defense to criminal liability.

Holding: It was not error for the judge to instruct the jury not to consider Cheek’s claims that the tax laws were unconstitutional; however, it was error for the court to instruct the jury that Cheek’s beliefs should not be considered by the jury in determining whether Cheek acted willfully.

Reasoning: Because of the complexity of the tax laws, the Court has interpreted the term “willfully” as carving out an exception to the traditional rule and requires specific intent.

Posted on

People v. Marrero, 69 N.Y. 2d 382

Case Name: People v. Marrero
Citation: 69 N.Y. 2d 382

Facts: Marrero, a federal corrections officer, was arrested for unlicensed possession of a loaded handgun. The statute exempted “peace officers” which included “corrections officers of any state correctional facility or of any penal correctional institution.” After a successful pretrial motion to dismiss, the Appellate Division reinstated the indictment, holding that Marrero was not a “peace officer.” Marrero was then tried and convicted before a jury after the trial court rejected his request for a jury instruction that it would be a good defense if he reasonably believed that the statutory exemption for peace officers applied to him as a federal correctional officer.

Issue: Whether the defendant’s personal misreading or misunderstanding of a statute may excuse criminal conduct in the circumstances of this case.

Defendant’s argument:  The jury should have received an instruction about his reasonable belief that the statutory exemption applied to him was a good defense.

State’s argument: The common law has clearly established that “mistake of law” does not relieve a defendant of criminal liability.

Holding: Conviction upheld.

Reasoning: In addition to the common law view, if Marrero’s argument was accepted, “the exception would swallow the rule. Mistakes about the law would be encouraged…there would be an infinite number of mistake of law defenses.” The crime only required general intent.

Dissent: The majority adopts an Utilitarian view. The criminal justice system is supposed to punish blameworthiness or “choosing freely to do wrong.” The defendant acted innocently and with any intent to do wrong and should not be punished. Furthermore, the dissent disagreed with the majority’s construction of the penal statute.